I finally bit the bullet - now own a 1993 Rolls Royce Silver Spur II

Ive been driving the RR a lot recently, and so far its been pretty good. I've been running some fuel injector cleaner through the system, and just trying to test its limits... ( kind of to see what else will break...)... yesterday started to see some smoke from under the car... so assuming something is leaking on the headers... not sure what..... its always something! I have an annoying clunking noise from the right rear ... that I think is part of the hydraulic system and the suspension... its funny it only really cranks up when turning left... making a right turn no noise. So adding that to the list.

for music - I remembered that Mercedes gave out a Bose Bluetooth speaker at last years F-1 race - so now I have a place for it... it sounds great!!! so I think that is what I'll use and not have to fool with the head unit ... but I will still play around with the CD changer and see what is causing it not to work....

other than the clunking noise and whatever is leaking - central locking is next on the list...

 

So quick update, Still have The Roller, and so far its been pretty good. Here is the list of fixes & issues:

1. Leak from the transmission return lines, so had them tightened up. no more smoke ... for a while...
2. New tires - OMG it rides even better, smooth and faster on the highway
3. Fixed the CD player... works great. Just when I bought a new changer on Ebay, I took the old one apart, and saw that the cable was kinked and put it back in the same position, voila it works... for how long I don't know? I did buy one of those tape Bluetooth converters -and it actually works great, but the battery runs down quick... eventually I think I'll do the Blaukpunkt solution ... but its not cheap $800 + installation.

so here's what's broken ...
Driving along to Starbucks noticed more smoke... and more puddles under the car. think its the steering rack again. so took it to my mechanic to pick up my Ferrari ... and said hey can you put this up on the lift and lets see what's leaking? Sure! was the answer. so got it up, and found leak coming from engine, small rear seal gasket, and then the steering rack leaking, and finally front and rear brake pumps leaking fluid. very slow leaks, except for the rack.

at the same time, the passengers seat Rake would not work. I tried to reset the memory... bad idea, and it got stuck leaning forward ... so my mechanic figured out a way to jumper the seat back into position... and we left it like that. pulling the car out - the steering rack wet the bed... so the RR is up at Merlin's getting the rack replaced 2nd time under warranty, and fixing a number of other leaks. .... new tires were great, but also lost two trim rings.. so just got new ones back from the UK, going to have Merlin install them ... and glue them in place!!!! hoping to have the RR back soonish.... it was using oil a bit but now see why.

so far covered about 4k miles... no breakdowns on the road! just in the shop or driveway! I think its going to be time for spheers front and back... that will be in the fall... I hope!

Oh yea, the passenger side rear window stopped working! no idea why.

the biggest thing that needs to be done is central locking... but I fear that means taking the dash apart - which I do not want to go there... at some point you have to say stop, and enjoy what you have.

 

Well, the ownership of this car has come to an end.

Over the past several months I have been restoring and repairing things that have broken or failed on the car. New compressor, dryer, new Tires, new steering rack - #2 on the car, new accumulators, and spheres, new wheel rings, etc... treated all the leather, reconditioned the lambswool carpets - to get the musty smell out of them. finally new distributer and caps. About two weeks ago I went to Merlin Automotive here in Atlanta who has been doing the work, to pick up the Rolls. it was a typical summer Atlanta day. Hot, with threat of storms. Arrived there about 2:30 PM. I pay my bill, pick up the car, and head home. Normally about a 30 min trip, but traffic was horrible so took surface streets. adds about 15 min. On my way, I decide I want to stop at Barns & Nobels to pick up the latest Motorsport magazine. Off in the distance, you can see the sky is getting really dark. but I think well, the car will get wet, anyway, so no big deal.

I'm in the store for 10-15 min, get my magazine, and get in the car and head home. I go down Peachtree street turn on to West Westly road, and the first couple of drops of rainfall. At the next intersection, a lady in a silver BMW pulls in front of me, at the last second. so as we head up the slight hill, the sky opens up. Deluge, so much rain. the street instantly turns into a stream. I follow the BMW lady who now has her flashers on, and we are going about 5-10 mph max. windshield wipers are on full blast, and you can hear the water outside, just lashing under the car. We come up to the UNDERPASS of I-75 and West Westly road, the water is getting deeper and is ponding but traffic is moving. the lady in front of me in the BMW is almost through and then she stops dead. I have to stop. then she moves and the Rolls Royce stalls. will not start. I try several times and then the warning lights start. it's dead.
I decide I need to get out, open the door, and the water starts to come in, I literally jump out of the car and walk 2- 3ft, and the water is now at my knee, then my waist, the bottom of my stomach... as I slowly move up the street the water level gets lower, but then I'm in the pouring rain. I have never seen so much rain so hard, could not dial 911 - the raindrops are dialing my phone for me. I take shelter under a tree and bush, finally, call the police. I'm now only less than a mile from home so I walk it get home and change and dry off, get back in my car and go back to the scene. It's horrible. car is a ruin, mud, branches, all over, the car is flooded - its total loss. So yesterday insurance confirmed it's a total loss, now waiting on the valuation. not sure what to expect. It's a sad way for a beautiful car to end.


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I'm not sure why it stalled, it could have ingested water. I tried to start it but would not start - at the same time I was getting all kinds of warning lights - mostly because the "computer" for the car is low down in the dash, and the gearbox sensors clearly got wet as that was the first light... I just saw the car today, it looks and smells horrible. It's a total loss, waiting for insurance coverage negotiation now... I'm sure that will be fun. I had just got it to where it was reliable, and fun... and I was also looking to sell it on... and trade up... but anyway